Free Delivery

It’s been quite a while since I posted. But I received a free delivery, and thought it was very worth sharing. After all, it was free.

I just took this photograph. It is a magazine on my desk, with a bookmark inside. Only a small part of the bottom of the bookmark is showing, with the words “Free Delivery” on it.

I remember spending three to five minutes searching for this bookmark weeks ago and wondering where I might have put it. It was a very strange thing of me to do, for two reasons: 1. I have many other bookmarks that I can use and I know exactly where they are, and 2. I value time very much. So it didn’t make any sense for me to spend even a few seconds looking for that bookmark.

Eventually, I grudgingly stopped looking and talked some sanity to myself, “If you just stop looking, it will show up sooner or later by itself.”

Sure enough, earlier today I was contemplating something while staring blankly. Staring at exactly what you are looking at in the photograph, from about the same angle too. It took me a few seconds of contemplation to notice the familiar bookmark, and as soon as I saw it, I immediately remembered my words to myself weeks ago and I smiled. Then, I reached for the bookmark, curiously pulled it out just a little, and there they were…the words, “Free Delivery”.

I felt tingles in my chest. Remembering my personal beliefs in fate, and in randomness being only an illusion, as influenced by favorite books like The Alchemist, Fooled by Randomness, and Practical Intuition. I felt that it was almost like a message being sent to me, “You stopped searching, after reasonable–or excessive–attempts to find, believing that it would show up at the right time, thus you are rewarded…with a ‘free delivery'”. And what a significant message that is for me at a time like this. Perhaps it can also be relevant to you, depending on your circumstances and whether you, too, are searching for something. Then again, aren’t we all searching for…”something”?

The challenge that still persists, though, is to know when to stop searching. What is the difference between persistence and stubbornness? When does serious searching effort become obsession? What is the difference between surrender and a wise change of direction? When should you stop, and when should you never give up? I find this yet another challenge in the everlasting journey to wisdom. Maybe I should wait for yet another “free delivery” that may come with the answer. Or should I?

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1 thought on “Free Delivery”

Hey Rocca, welcome back! It’s good to see your words here once more. I can also thank you for the comment you made for one of my “Argo Tales”.

This post of yours reminds me of the countless times I too have invested serious energy and time in “trying to make a thing happen” only to later realize the need to simply be still and trust that the solution will present itself once I put my focus on that stillness. I tend to have recurring issues with my back, and like you, it took me spending a few moments being conscious of how I sometimes treated my back to make some much needed corrections. These days I stretch more, am aware of posture both standing and sitting, and even broke out my ‘ergonomically designed’ chair given to me by my brother one year as a birthday gift!

Deeper lesson?

…being aware of what we can do for ourselves puts us in touch with what we can do for each other!